I Didn't Go to Burning Man
There have been three times I considered it: when the Egreetings gang was going, but I couldn't get the time off work, when Spacegirl went and encouraged me to come along, but I was teaching and couldn't be out of my classroom the second week of school, and last month, when my dear friend Mark mentioned that he was going, and I thought, "Oh man, it's my last chance to go, probably, and there's no way I can make it happen." The only thing I did have was really something I didn't have: a full-time job requiring my presence during Labor Day week. However, I also had appointments, social plans, and packing to do for my impending move to Delaware (with detours to Kauai and my parents' for a week each). There was no way it was going to happen, but still...this pang. I know that if I went to Burning Man with good friends, planned out my outfits, brought all my camping stuff and dehydrated gourmet meals, and stayed in the Hush camp where Spacegirl stayed this year (everyone goes to bed and sleeps through the night), I'd enjoy it. The art would be fascinating on that desert tableau.

However, since I stayed home, instead, I lived vicariously through the pictures the NY Times had on their website every day, and helped Mark prepare his outfits. They were fabulous: red cowboy outfit, white space captain outfit, Speedos of every color with accessories. I'll admit to a minor pang, but I also have a pang that Superdad and I didn't make it to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival this year to see Richard Newcombe in Jekyll and Hyde. As Superdad always says, you can't have all your life experiences before you're 50. Sometimes you have to pick and choose. I've spent quality time with friends and family this summer and fall, got some closure on teaching, returned to freelance writing, and packed. I am ready for the East Coast and all the adventures it will provide. I may never make it to Burning Man, but Spacegirl and Mark will indulge me with photos and fashion shows, and maybe I can convince them to celebrate New Year's Eve in Gettysburg.